The Is The Unacknowledged Entity That Exists Between The Intestacies Of Solid Masculinity

In “The Myth of Homosexuality” by Christine Downing, there is the discussion of homosexuality and its meaning over the years. Downing begins the article by stating how a myth has classified women-on-women and men-on-men relationships to fall under the same term of homosexuality, but there is much deeper understanding to it than that. The classification under one word has caused a lot of shaping concerning how they are viewed or how they view themselves. In order to look past the surface of what defines the myth, Downing states that we must start with the culture’s myth and it’s origin.

To start, after extensive reading, many writers have attempted to understand the desire to participate in sexual activity with the same sex, therefore finding that the reasons vary from low self-esteem,

In the early 1800’s Victorian True Love was a union of non-erotic actors (men and women) that viewed sex as a form of procreation. True Women were defined by their distance from lust and True Men who were less in control of their lusts, aspired the same freedom from sexual desires (Ferber, Jimenez, O'Reilly Herrera, & Samuels, 2009). In 1892, heterosexuals were defined as individuals that had abnormal urges in both sexes, while

Heteronormativity is the idea that heterosexuality and male and female gender binaries are the default. It has an emphasis on strict gender roles that feed into the idea that males are supposed to be strong protectors, sole providers, and reject anything deemed “feminine”. These ideas are further advanced by the notion of courtly love, which see the males as a dotting servant to women, the objects of their affection, but in reality is a tool of narcissism.

“Sexual Orientation The preferred term used when referring to an individuals’ physical and/or emotional attraction to the same and/or opposite gender. Sexual orientation describes how people locate themselves on the spectrum of attraction. Someone who feels a significant attraction to both sexes is said to

The meaning of sexuality is known in scripture as relating to the companionship and completeness. In the Genesis 1 account of creation, sexuality is one of the first human attributes to be

The erotic has been a source of major discussion within queer and feminist theories. Indeed, much of the discussions surrounding homosexuality or queerness in general focus on ideas of sexuality and the erotic. It has been recognized as of late as a major force in people’s lives, something that permeates nearly every aspect of their lives. However, with the rise of discussions surrounding the erotic, the concept of the nonerotic has been left by the wayside, so to speak. There are many discussions surrounding the erotic that give no space for those who may not identify with the erotic in any way. This is seen in a variety of theories concerning the erotic. This work will identify some groups which may not embrace or experience the

Hegemonic masculinity is a social construction which suggests to society that men must be stronger than the feminine of the species in every way. By definition, hegemonic masculinity is the dominance of men over women, where men must sustain this dominance in any way. Defining what the hegemonic masculine ideal is in Canada is difficult as we are a very young, multicultural country, so the notion of the ideal man is a warped characterization of the ideal American male. This paper seeks to prove that hegemonic masculinity is a social construction which is detrimental to society. The negative effects of hegemonic masculinity on men include; male violence, misogyny, and homophobia which are inextricably linked to how we define manhood as a culture.

​Etymologically, the word homosexual is a hybrid of Greek and Latin words, thus connoting acts of sexual behavior between members of the same sex. The word ‘homosexual’ is controversial in itself as it refers to only one’s sexual behavior as opposed to the romantic feelings and thus, people attribute the term ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’ as appropriate. Homophilia, also means the love and sensibilities between the same sex people.

Sexuality is defined by “sexual orientation or preference” as well as the ability to understand the capacity of sexual desires. Same sex sexuality refers to sexual orientation also, but one’s preference towards someone of their same gender and the “erotic thoughts, feelings and behaviours” they assign to those of the same sex. Culturally, same sex sexuality is not always based on sexual ideals, acts that could be defined as being homosexual and appealing to those with same sex sexuality, often are only performed due to cultural traditions. These traditions place a strain on what cultures depict as same sex sexuality, thereby effecting cultural treatment of it.

Applying a broad definition of sexuality, he called these periods’ psychosexual stages. During each stage, the pleasure-seeking impulses of the id focus on, and derive pleasure from, a particular area of the body and in activities connected with that area”. (123 helpme)

Hegemonic masculinity can be seen as culturally idealised concept in which is both personal and collective and can be commonly understood as the continuation of the breadwinning husband and caring subordinative woman (Donaldson 1993).

Heterosexuality refers to the attraction (romantic or sexual) towards the opposite sex. Adrienne Rich takes a lesbian feminist point of view in her essay and argues that heterosexuality is not natural. She believes that compulsive heterosexuality emerges from the submission of women to men. What Rich refers to as compulsive heterosexuality may also be known as social constructionism. Social constructionism is a theory that argues that what we have come to know as “natural” about ourselves in terms of our bodies is actually socially constructed. Groups and people associate meanings to body parts, feelings, sensations, “make erotic acts into social identities, and create norms distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable sexualities.”.

says Anthony Rotundo, attempting to define the boundaries between romantic friendship and erotic love, in relation to same gender friendships, in the late nineteenth century (Miller 4). Same gender relationships could exist on a physical level, expressing affection, without bringing up questions of sexual preference. Further, F.S. Ryman, a gentleman in his twenties, wrote of the very

“Heteronormativity” is the term coined to define the systemic and pervasive belief, structurally, socially and somewhat unconsciously, that heterosexuality is the normal and inevitable sexuality, it ‘makes sense’. It is grounded in determinism; that one’s anatomical sex must compliment their partner’s ‘opposite’